The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for pressing glass preforms, or parisons, and for placing the glass preforms into a blowing machine, as well as to a blowing machine including such an apparatus.
In the production of glass vessels, such as drinking glasses, use is often made of rotary blowing machines in which a plurality of blow molds with associated work tables and blow heads are rotated around the blowing machine body in a carousel-like fashion. To blow the glass vessels, a preform, or parison, of liquid glass is placed onto a rotating work table, whereupon the associated blow head is lowered and arranged at the preform in an airtight way in order to blow up the preform in the associated blow mold.
To provide the glass preform, first of all a liquid glass drop, also referred to as a gob, is taken from molten glass and pressed in a press mold to form the glass preform. Subsequently, the glass preform is placed into the blowing machine, particularly onto one of the work tables thereof, by means of a placing mechanism. This process needs to be automated and take place at high cycle rates to ensure a highest possible productivity.